If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Resale volume of HDB flats up 8.1%

Resale volume of HDB flats up 8.1%

JUN 9, 2017

Yuen Sin

The resale volume for Housing Board flats went up by 8.1 per cent last month, property data portal SRX said in a flash report yesterday. According to resale data it compiled, 1,983 HDB resale flats were sold last month, compared with April's 1,834.

Last month's resale volume was also 7.5 per cent higher than in May last year, when 1,844 units were resold.

At the same time, resale prices last month fell slightly by 0.1 per cent compared with April.

The resale prices of five-room HDB flats and executive flats increased by 0.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively, while those of three-room flats remained unchanged. Prices of four-room flats decreased by 0.1 per cent.

Across the board, prices have declined by 11.6 per cent since the peak in April 2013. Since May last year, prices have fallen slightly by 0.7 per cent.

In May, HDB resale prices in mature estates rose by 0.2 per cent, compared with a 0.4 per cent dip in non-mature estates.

Mr Ong Kah Seng, director of R'ST Research, said the rise in resale activity last month over April, even as prices fell over the same period, reflect that resale flat buyers are "still generally opportunity-driven and realistic".

"They generally buy in accordance to what they deem to be reasonable pricing, a value buy, and are overall cautious in offering high purchase prices, " he said.

But he said that it is unlikely there will be a major rise in resale prices in the months ahead, with buyers still opportunistic and looking for flats that are value for money.

These findings are based on SRX Property's flash estimates released on Thursday for the public housing resale market for last month.

The slight easing in SRX Property's price index for HDB resale flats last month over April 2017 follows a 0.3 per cent month-on-month drop in April 2017.

Year on year, the price index has shed 0.7 per cent from May 2016. From the peak in April 2013, the index has declined 11.6 per cent.

Data compiled by SRX Property shows that an estimated 1,983 HDB flats were resold last month, 8.1 per cent higher than the 1,834 units in April 2017.

Year- on-year, too, the figure was up 7.5 per cent from the 1,844 units resold in May 2016.

That said, last month's resale volume was 45.7 per cent below the peak of 3,649 units in May 2010.

Year on year, SRX Property's price index for resale flats in mature estates inched up 0.1 per cent while the index for non-mature estates fell 1.3 per cent.

OrangeTee's head of research and consultancy Wong Xian Yang commented that HDB resale prices have continued to stabilise with prices down only 0.6 per cent year to date.

Volumes have also risen with around 8,300 units sold in January to May 2017, compared to 8,100 units in 2016 during the same corresponding period.

"According to recent media reports, the proportion of first-time buyers who chose to buy resale HDB flats (as against picking up a Build-To-Order, or BTO, flat from the Housing Board) has increased from 9 per cent in 2012 to 19 per cent in 2016.

"This suggests that Singaporeans are willing to fork out a premium to secure a home early and in choice locations," he said.

Additionally, the downtrend in HDB resale prices since 2013 coupled with generous CPF grants also increased the attractiveness of buying a resale flat, Mr Wong added.

"Hence demand for resale HDB flats is expected to remain healthy and HDB resale price growth is expected to be range-bound between -1 per cent and +1 per cent, as strict loan curbs continue to keep prices at bay. Resale HDB volumes are expected to grow about 2 to 5 per cent in 2017 over 2016."

Savills Singapore research head Alan Cheong noted that with a subdued employment market, it is possible that first-time homebuyers may opt for BTO flats from the Housing Board rather than for resale flats, which even after the grant, may require buyers to fork out more than for a new unit from HDB.